McAvoy Will Return for Showdown with Tampa
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"Excitement for sure," said McAvoy, who has missed the last 15 games. "Been a while, feels like it's been longer than it has. Four weeks of hard work, a lot of stuff behind the scenes to get back here. I feel really well and I'm excited to get back out there tonight."
McAvoy, who skated in his familiar place alongside
Zdeno Chara on Boston's top pairing during Tuesday's morning skate, expects there to be a bit of a re-acclimation period.
"There really is nothing like game shape, no matter how much you do work off the ice, it takes a little bit to get back," said McAvoy. "I have been skating a lot and hoping that crossover back into game play isn't going to be too demanding. No reason not to be confident when I get out there tonight, just gonna try to play simple at first, couple quick shifts and ease my way back into it.
"There's not a guy on this team that I don't feel comfortable with out on the ice, I'll have everyone behind me. It's gonna be awesome and great to be back out there and play."
Locker Room Raw: Charlie McAvoy
The 20-year-old blue liner will don a brace on his left knee, but does not anticipate the device hindering any part of his game.
"It's different. I've had about a week or so of skating and trying to get acclimated to the brace," he said. "There's a lot of guys on the team that use them and I'm sure it's the same around the league. Every single one of them will tell you that it's uncomfortable at first but then you get used to it and it's like it's not even there. It will be a process…it doesn't alter my skating in any way, feels good."